Chapter 16: Encountering Danger Again, Bloodthirsty Savage's Deadly Blow
Relying on the soul power replenished by the Three-Flower Fruit, Su Ye successfully dispelled the ghostly soul power within his body.
The sudden appearance and disappearance of the soul power left him with a momentary sense of emptiness, making his body feel weak and drowsy.
Before long, he fell asleep, with his head naturally resting on Zhu Zhuqing's soft, fragrant shoulder.
"You..."
Zhu Zhuqing was exasperated, thinking Su Ye was doing this on purpose again.
But when she saw his relaxed and quiet face, realizing he had fallen asleep, she bit her lip and decided to act as if nothing had happened.
After traveling for several dozen miles, Zhu Zhuqing finally stopped by a small stream.
Whoosh, whoosh...
Sweat dripped down her cheeks, her messy hair sticking to her skin as she panted heavily, drenched in sweat.
"We should be safe for now..."
She glanced back, her tightly furrowed brows relaxing as she laid Su Ye down under the shade of a tree.
At this distance, even if someone came looking, they would never find them unless they were very close.
Seeing that Su Ye hadn't woken up yet, Zhu Zhuqing, too tired to care about the sweat soaking her body, leaned against the tree to rest.
Having run such a long distance, she was completely exhausted—nearly at the point of collapse.
Suddenly, Su Ye opened his eyes.
Looking around, he saw the dense forest, and the memories of what had happened before floated back into his mind.
"Did I fall asleep by accident..."
His gaze landed on the sleeping Zhu Zhuqing beside him, and a smile tugged at his lips.
The little cat actually remembered to take him with her and run. Not bad, not bad. He might just reward her with a slap.
Just as he was about to wake her up, Su Ye's body suddenly became alert, his hairs standing on end as a strong sense of danger surged within him.
Silence!
It was too silent!
It was as though the air itself had frozen, leaving only the cold chill that washed over his skin.
Su Ye had gone hunting in the mountains with Old Tom before, so he knew exactly what this feeling meant.
That time, they were ambushed by a blind bear in the middle of the night.
If it hadn't been for Su Ye making gunpowder, they would have both perished in the wilderness.
Even then, the feeling of life and death had been imprinted deep in his bones.
"A wild beast!"
"There's definitely a wild beast around!"
Su Ye's eyes grew serious, his body tense and on high alert. He suddenly shoved Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder.
Zhu Zhuqing was startled awake and saw Su Ye gesturing for silence. Her eyes narrowed in understanding, and she dared not make a sound.
Clearly, with the perception of the Ghostly Spirit Cat martial soul, she too had sensed the abnormality in their surroundings.
Hearing movement in the stream, it seemed like some wild beast had stepped through it. The two of them slowly moved to the side, using the bushes for cover as they peered out.
In the stream, a soul beast—about 1.5 meters tall and more than two meters long—was licking its bloody wounds in the water. It was clear that it had just been through a fierce battle.
This soul beast was a creature that looked like a cross between a tiger and a leopard, with a ghastly, menacing appearance.
Its reddish-brown striped fur was covered in scars, and its left eye had a deep, horrifying cut running through it. One could only imagine how many bloody battles it had survived to stay alive.
The beast's bloodlust seemed almost tangible, with blood-red aura surrounding it, exuding an intense, terrifying pressure.
"Could it be... the Bloodthirsty Savage's Deadly Blow!!"
Su Ye's heart skipped a beat, and a phrase flashed through his mind:
"Tigers give birth to three cubs, and one of them is always a savage."
Usually, a tigress only gives birth to two cubs, and the third is often a savage.
Due to malnutrition, the savage cub is weak and is often abandoned by the mother tiger. It's rare for such a cub to survive into adulthood.
However, those that do survive grow up in extremely cruel environments, often fighting viciously with larger and more ferocious wild beasts. They inherit the most ruthless and brutal qualities of these predators.
Such beasts hate all living creatures, killing their own mother and siblings without hesitation. They are tireless in battle, fighting even through injury and exhaustion.
The only outcome is either the opponent's death or their own demise.
The beast before them was a variant of the savage, even more dangerous.
Its age was six thousand years!
With its perverse natural talent for soul techniques, its strength was not weaker than that of a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast.
With their current strength, Su Ye and Zhu Zhuqing were no match for the Bloodthirsty Savage.
It was extremely troublesome!
Do not provoke it!
Su Ye gestured to Zhu Zhuqing to silently leave, indicating they should not disturb the soul beast.
Zhu Zhuqing also sensed the terrifying nature of the creature and did not dare to make a sound. The two of them crawled away slowly.
At that moment, the Bloodthirsty Savage seemed to catch a scent, suddenly lifting its menacing head and scanning its surroundings warily.
The faint scent of blood in the air seemed to fuel the beast, which let out a fierce, wolf-like howl, its bloodthirsty roar shaking the air.
Whoosh!
Its piercing right eye locked onto the location of Su Ye and Zhu Zhuqing.
"They've been exposed!!"
Su Ye and Zhu Zhuqing's hearts sank, hearing the sound of the Bloodthirsty Savage closing in.
The hissing growl sounded like hyenas sensing food—wild, uncontrollable, and filled with excitement, sending a chill down their spines.
"It's the blood!!"
Su Ye immediately realized that the blood from his chest was still leaking.
The Bloodthirsty Savage had an extremely keen sense of smell for blood, and even from several kilometers away, it could track it. Any injury, no matter how small, would attract it, causing it to rush toward the source in search of a killing feast.
"Run—!"
Without hesitation, the two of them sprang to their feet and dashed forward.
At the same time, the massive body of the Bloodthirsty Savage lunged forward.
With a sharp crack, its claws instantly snapped a tree, the size of a water barrel, in half, displaying terrifying strength.
The powerful shockwave from the beast's movement sent both of them flying. Luckily, they managed to avoid serious injury and weren't gravely harmed.
In an instant, Su Ye grabbed Zhu Zhuqing, and with a flap of his Golden Flame Eagle wings, they soared into the sky, trying to evade the Bloodthirsty Savage.
Unfortunately, the Bloodthirsty Savage had never had the habit of letting its enemies escape.
Killing!!
Savage!!
Through the dense forest, the beast charged forward, crashing through the trees as if it were in an open field, relentlessly pursuing the direction Su Ye and Zhu Zhuqing had flown.
Its speed was even greater than that of the Golden Flame Eagle.
However, it deliberately controlled its pace, staying directly beneath them, as if playing a game of kite flying, waiting for them to land.
Even when it suddenly turned or entered the territory of other soul beasts, it showed no sign of hesitation or change in its pursuit. Its stubbornness almost made Su Ye curse out loud.
"This area is far from the center of the forest, surrounded by thousand-year-old soul beasts. It's unlikely we can lure it elsewhere."
"And with my current soul power, I can't send us flying that far..."
Realizing that continuing in this way wouldn't work, Su Ye grew anxious and immediately said to Zhu Zhuqing:
"I'll lead this beast away. You find a place to hide!"
"If I don't come back to find you, you must find an opportunity to leave the Star Dou Forest. Do you understand?"
"What?!"
Lead it away alone?
Zhu Zhuqing's face turned pale with anger, her eyes wide as she shouted, "Do you know what you're doing? You're seeking death!"
"This soul beast is naturally vicious. Unless we kill it, no one will escape!"
Hearing this, Su Ye bared his teeth and spoke domineeringly:
"Stop talking nonsense and listen to me!"
"If we keep flying like this, I'll run out of soul power to escape on my own!"
Su Ye wasn't blind; he knew this well. But at least he had a better chance of escaping alone than with Zhu Zhuqing.
The girl bit her pink lips, complex emotions flashing across her face, but she didn't speak. Su Ye didn't give her a chance to object and dove down toward the ground.
Now!
This was the best choice!
(End of chapter)